INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, NETWORKING AND APPLICATION OF IAEA SAFETY STANDARDS - PERSPECTIVES OF THE IAEA

摘要

The fundamental objective of safety is to protect people and the environment from the harmful effects of ionizing radiation arising from the operation of nuclear fuel cycle facilities and the utilization of radiation in general. This protection rests on the availability and international acceptance and use of a complete set of safety standards, strong management for safety of all licensees, effective regulatory bodies and a sustainable infrastructure with professionals trained in the application of the safety standards. The nuclear safety community is faced with many new challenges in the nuclear installations safety and radiation safety areas. The potential for accidents will increase as more and more countries turn to wider application of nuclear power and radiation sources, and if ageing of technology is not managed properly. The complexity of these issues requires the enhancement of the exchange of knowledge and cooperation among all nuclear and radiation professionals. Operators and regulators need to base their decisions on a robust knowledge base supported by institutions where high quality R&D activitiesare carried out. Institutions tracking new scientific information, new technologies and new challenges in a proactive manner play an important role in this context. The technical, scientific and safety support to operators and regulators differs significantly among countries, but whatever organizational framework has been chosen, international cooperation, networking and technical and scientific information sharing are essential. This conference deals with the challenges faced by technical and scientific support organizations (TSOs) in dealing with the important task of enhancing nuclear and radiation safety. This is indeed a challenge, not only to the TSOs themselves, but also to both the nuclear and the radiation communities. High quality technical and scientific information coming from well recognized, authoritative sources is of prime importance to operators and regulators. The discussions during this conference will lay important groundwork to cultivate a favourable environment for continued research, education and feedback of experience in nuclear and radiation safety worldwide. Also, how to avoid ethical conflicts and how to establish and demonstrate credibility to a sceptical public are issues to be addressed. The IAEA looks forward to the recommendations from this conference and is prepared to take on new challenges using the network of institutions with excellent knowledge and competence to support enhancing radiation and nuclear safely worldwide.